The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1887-12-09
MAKING CHARCOAL.
Manufacturers Review.

uUh luS Nu"A|oHif uuN lhC Pi"Oo IL
which they made the charcoal WAS
called the pit. Now charcoal is
Que of the incidental products Of
another business, and the place in
which it is made is called an acid
factory.
In the old days the charcoal
burner drove Il stake in the ceuter
of piece of cleared ground around
"A small sapling, aud then proceed
ed to stand cord wood up around 1t
Oh end until the pile was about 40
feet in diameter and two lengths
high. Then he piled sods aud earth
all over the pit, leaving small holes
here and there around the bottom,
and one small hole at the top.
When the wood was well covered
IN he set it on fire, and let it burn
till well ablaze, and then closed up
the dranghts around the pile.
For two weeks thereafter the
charcoal burner, with another man
to keep watch with him, sat by the
pile aud smoked his pipe. Now and
then the fire would break through
the covering aud he would have 10
cover up the role. Sometimes he
would have to make hole on Il
side where the fire was not dlspos.
ed to go. In a few days black tar
would begin to ooze out from little
drains made for its escape around
the bottom. DuIing all the Time
the pile was burning picturesque
column OF smoke rose out OF the
chimney hole lett in the top. When
the tar ceased to flow and the
smoke ceased to rise the cbal coal
burnel knew that the pit was burn
ed out, and after allowing IL day
or so for cooling, he shovelel otf
The SOdS and earth, pouring water
on such chuncks OF coal that hap
pened to be on fire, aud was then
ready to load the products of his
labor into lusky, black covered
wagon, and with hls mules TO pull
it, drive to towu and make himself
hoarse shouting, "Cha-r.r-coal !!
Char r-coalw He got about %
bushels out of "A cord OF wood and
20 cents out of bushel of coal.
Considering the value of wood and
the time required to make and sell,
the charcoa! burner didn't get rich
very fast. In fact, hA was always
Il laborer, dressed in blue jeans.
But he found time to melitate,
aud after long years it amounted
to something. Out of his medita-
ton grew the revolution in the bus
iupsS. Singular as II may seem,
the most valuable product OF the
charcoal pit was the picturesque
smoke that rose up and was dlsSl-
pated in the air above the pit while
the fire lasted. 1t was like throw.
ing away money into the river to
let that smoke blow away. The
bright genius discovered that the
smoke was in good part alcohol,
and the alcohol tor mechanical pur-
poses was just as good as grain or
fruit alcohol, though not at all
good to the taste. ln fact, would
take the throat out of II Mulberry
street tramp.
The problem of getting tue aIcO-
hol out of tue smoke was simple.
Instead of burning the wood in a
pit, the genius borrowed capital
and built retorts just large enough
to bold two cords of wood. They
were made in the shape of round
steam boilers and mounted over
brick furnaces as boilers are. The
retOrts were filled with hard wood,
soft being of no account, and fires
were started in the furnaces. The
wood was baked and the volatile
elements of the wood were driven
off through pipes that were laid III
d big trough of running water so as
to form condenser on the prinei-
pie of a steam condenser. Of course
the factory had To be located on a
stream of water that had good
fall, in order TO run the water into
the condenser economically, al
though steam engine would
pump the water through.
Tue liquor that ran from the con
denser was simply condensed
smoke. 1t WAS conducted to a tanl
where it was mixed with lime, Th'
lime combined with certain aclt
constituents of the smoke and lef
the wood alcohol tree. The alco
hol vas drawn on aud distilled i'm
grain disIilIery. From 5 to 6 gal
Ions of alcohol we're obtained fron
a cord of wood.
Theu the compound of lime ant
acid was taken out of the vats, uu
til it became the commercial sub
stance known as acetate OF lime
About $50 pounds Of the acetate
were obtained from cord OF wood
Here, then, were two very valnabl'
substances obtained from th'
smoke, aud although some addi
tioual labor aud a valuable plan
bad been necessary to secure tn
smoke, the extra expense was
trif1e compared with the value o
the new product.
Finally, when the tar had ceasei
to flow from the retort, as il hai
formerly ceased to flow from th
pit, the TetOrt was opened. Ii
stead of % bushels OF coal to th